Most times when you get fired in TV news, you can see it coming. Other times, it is a total surprise.

You can put WNWO (Toledo) Anchor Jim Blue in the second column.

Blue said that he arrived for work in the afternoon, as normal, and was promptly asked to meet with WNWO’s general manager John Nizamis, which of course is never a good sign.

Instead of getting ready for the newscast, Blue was told hewas no longer employed at the station.

“It did come as a surprise to me,” Blue said in a phone interview with the Toledo Blade. “I thought we were doing so well.

“Many things have been improved physically at the station in terms of equipment being replaced that needed to be replaced for years [by] prior ownership,” he added. “A lot more still has to be done and it’s in the pipeline.”

WNWO owners, Sinclair Broadcast Group, may be investing more in the station with the hopes of turning its struggling ratings into better numbers, and therefore into bigger profits, but Blue is no longer part of the rebuilding plans.

When reached for comment, WNWO news director Nicole Hahn said, “Jim Blue is no longer with the station and at this point we have no future plans set right now” and declined to comment further.

And while the anchor is working out the final details of his termination agreement, he said he expects Channel 24 to drop his non-compete clause that would prevent him from working at local stations for a specific time period.

“I could stay in a professional capacity working for someone else in the local market,” he said, but stressed that there’s “no other deal on the table” with another area station.

Some advice for Blue, the next time they ask you to report to the GM's office, just don't go.